A study from the laboratory of Alpine Ecology in Grenoble (CNRS) and University of Yale shows that an increase of only 5% in the surface of protected areas would strongly increase the preservation of mammals and bird species.Since biodiversity is generally evaluated by the number of present species in a specific zone, the scientists added two other components to which it is not frequently referred to: phylogenetical diversity which reflects evolutionary history accumulated by an assemblage of species, and functional diversity which reflects the diversity of life history traits of a population such as feeding. Thanks to algorithms of spatial optimization, the scientists identified priority protection zones in Madagascar, South-East Asia and the Andes. The results are published in Nature.

The registration for the 1st Annual Forum of the EU Strategy for the Alpine Region (EUSALP) is now open! The event, taking place on 23-24 November 2017 at BMW World in Munich, is jointly organised by Bavaria (current Presidency of the EUSALP) and the European Commission (Directorate-General for Regional and Urban Policy).

Ecological connectivity is needed on land, under water and in the air to safeguard biodiversity for future generations.

The three video clips "Life needs connectivity.Three love stories - Ibex, Fish, Vulture" are made by the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety (Germany ) in partnership with ALPARC, University of Veterinary Medicine of Vienna and Blue! in the frame of the work of the publication " Alpine Nature 2030 - Creating [ecological] connectivity for generations to come " . Video produced by MischiefVisit.

The video clip "Life needs connectivity. Beyond mountains" is made by the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety (Germany) in partnership with ALPARC, Danubeparks Network for protected areas, CNPA - Carpathians Network of protected areas . Video produced by MischiefVisit.

ALPBIONET2030 proposes a first overview of mediation and mitigation strategies for mountain areas

As a first result of the ALPBIONET2030 project, a report on the state of the art of current mitigation and mediation strategies in mountain areas is available. The study, led by Eurac Research, presents a collection of human-nature conflict case studies and mitigation strategies used in the Alps and in other mountain areas with indications on the transferability of results.

Human-wildlife interactions have always been a significant feature of mountain areas. In the last decades, conservation policies, demographic tendencies, ecological and topographic factors have together resulted in an intensification of this phenomenon in the Alps. These interactions of various kinds can have several negative impacts, both on human activities and on biodiversity conservation. Therefore, there is an absolute need to manage them efficiently from a social and ecological point of view in order to enhance cohabitation in a necessarily shared space.

Wildlife management has traditionally focused on reducing damages caused by animals on human activities, and vice versa. However, there is increasing acknowledgment among specialists that the social dimension of human-wildlife conflicts should constantly be taken into account to manage conflicts.

This work presents a sample of existing mitigation and conflict resolution approaches in mountain areas. It intends to emphasize the necessity to combine multi- and inter-disciplinary methods in order to reach a qualitative and stable level of human-nature coexistence that would enter into the scheme of a well-established ecological connectivity management throughout Alpine areas.

Public response to wildlife presence is namely considered as a prominent factor in the intensity of a conflict and an important area of work that is to be addressed through mediation approaches.

The present report also suggests that this social and recently considered component of the conflict could be the cornerstone for making the so-called conflict an opportunity to stimulate regional development in the Alps. Turning intense human reactions to wildlife presence into positive actions such as ecotourism development based on wildlife presence would be an example of this. For this reason, it would be necessary to first revise our ambition of “conflict resolution” and focus efforts on optimizing the management of human-wildlife interaction.

ALPBIONET2030 runs from November 2016 to December 2019 and is co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund through the Interreg Alpine Space programme (Total budget: 2,637,285 € - 2,241,693 € ERDF grant). ALPARC is lead partner in this project.

The conservation, restoration and creation of ecological connectivity are key elements in European and international nature protection policies. Stakeholders from numerous sectors are involved, adapting their daily activities or setting up particular measures to improve ecological connectivity. These activities support the conservation of biodiversity, but they also generate benefits in a regional socio-economic context and therefore contribute to greening the economy. The GreenConnect project has studied the contributions of ecological connectivity measures to a green economy in the Alpine context and highlighted some of the potential socio-economic impacts. Based on the results of this study, that will be presented during the event, participants from research, Alpine Pilot Regions, administrations and representatives from different economic sectors are invited to discuss the implications, to suggest related project ideas and to participate in the drafting of a follow-up process.

The International Forum takes place in the Alpseehaus in Immenstadt (D) on 28 September 2017.This event is organized in coordination with the “Business models for the sustainable use of natural resources in the Alpine region” Workshop organized as part of a process to develop an action plan for a Green Alpine Economy, taking place the day before (27th September 2017) in Immenstadt.

A short video to illustrate the importance of cooperation between the Alps and the Carpathians via the flat Danube river plains

Curious to know what happened to our friends the ibex, the bearded vulture and the fish? Want to learn more about the challenge of the red deer in the flat Danube river plains? A fourth short and humorous video clip about the importance of ecological connectivity in a specific geographical context is now being added to the existing series.

The short video clip that was developed in the frame of the cooperation between the networks of protected areas in the Alps (ALPARC) and the Carpathians (CNPA) and the Danube Protected Areas Network (Danube Parks) illustrates how landscape fragmentation may be a problem for wildlife in the intersection between these three European regions. Will we be able to see another happy ending? Take 2 minutes off and follow our red deer in their quest for love. The video is available on the ALPARC YouTube channel.

This book on wildlife crimes by Heinrich Haller represents a trans-border study reaching from the Swiss National Park over to Italy and Austria. A study of this type has never been published in such a way. It is not only about refurbishing history but also about the analysis of present day cases shedding light on dark activities. An exceptional case of the illegal trade of Shahtoosh scarfs in St. Moritz leads to searching for clues as far as Tibet and establishes a link with the dramatic situation of wildlife crimes in many countries on a global scale.

The goal of this study is to provide a mostly quantitative refurbishment of wildlife crimes in the Raethian border triangle. The issue of the impacts of the illegal hunting of wildlife populations remains in the foreground.

The collected information serves to explain the phenomenon of wildlife crimes and to show ways of improving the situation. Literature regarding wildlife crimes is very widespread in the Alps, concentrating mostly on cultural-historic aspects. Thus, the present publication provides a new perspective.

The first edition was published in 2016 in German - since February 2017, an Italian version is also available.

On the occasion of the Day of the Alpine Convention, we invite you to the opening of photography exhibition "Obiettivo fauna nel parco naturale delle Prealpi Giulie" on Friday, May 26th 2017 at 18h at the Slovene Alpine Museum in Mojstrana (SI). The exhibition will present the work of Paolo Da Pozzo and Gabriele Bano.

The WeWild project (2016-2018) got well under way with the first workshop which was organised in Vorarlberg in March 2017. 16 stakeholders from six Alpine countries attended the two-day event, thereby underlining the interest in a common, Alpine-wide communication strategy regarding the behaviour of snow sports participants.

The fruitful workshop discussions helped the working group to identify the major needs regarding such a joint strategy and to reveal potential risks. It also allowed for the collection of ideas for objectives, actions and tools. Valuable input came from the stakeholder presentations on information campaigns and from Nils Westerfeld’s presentation on factors influencing eco-friendly behaviour from outdoor sports participants.

By now and based on these workshop results, ALPARC has started working on a joint communication strategy that will also frame the creation of joint communication tools. ALPARC will launch a joint Alps-wide initiative that will bring together protected areas as well as other key players and interested partners. The initiative’s mission is to educate and raise awareness of outdoor recreationists in the Alps using international cooperation, exchange and communication. Based on a positive, non-regulatory attitude, its aim is to gain momentum, increase visibility of existing campaigns and contribute to eco-friendly behaviour in snow and outdoor sports. The initiative will have its own identity and will be promoted via a website and a video clip which will be released in 2018. Our members, protected areas and other partners will be given the opportunity to join the initiative by signing a common mission statement.

The upcoming milestones in 2017 are the finalisation of the communication strategy, the creation of the graphical identity, video and website as well as the second WeWild workshop to be held in November 2017 in Aree Protette dell’Ossola (IT).

Interested protected areas and other organisations are openly invited to join our initiative and contribute to its development. For any inquiry, please contact Maša Klemenčič or Dominik Cremer-Schulte at the ALPARC office.

The beginning of the year was composed of numerous meetings for the ALPBIONET2030 project partners: a partners’ meeting in the Kalkalpen National Park, one of the project working regions, bi- or plurilateral meetings to coordinate the work of the individual Work Packages and an experts’ workshop to define the guideline to re-design the connectivity-mapping-tool JECAMI.

Mapping the results of the project was the central issue of many discussions during this time. The partners now agreed on a methodology and defined the adapted indicators to analyse, identify and map the Strategic Alpine Connectivity Areas (SACA), one of the key objectives of the project.

First data collection, analysis and mapping activities were also carried out concerning the wildlife management approaches of the different Alpine countries and regions.

Finally, a first round of surveys was launched in order to identify the main human-wildlife conflicts also linked to connectivity issues amongst different Alpine stakeholders. A further survey targeting a younger public of students is currently being developed.

The project homepage is now online and offers an interesting overview of the project activities and the advancement of the work: http://www.alpine-space.eu/projects/alpbionet2030/en/home. In addition to the project factsheet (in all Alpine languages) and a poster, a project flyer summarising the main project information will be available soon.